{"id":120336,"date":"2023-10-23T21:49:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T21:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=120336"},"modified":"2023-10-23T21:49:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T21:49:43","slug":"small-boat-progress-ministers-will-end-the-use-of-100-migrant-hotels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/politics\/small-boat-progress-ministers-will-end-the-use-of-100-migrant-hotels\/","title":{"rendered":"Small boat progress: Ministers will end the use of 100 migrant hotels"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ministers will end the use of 100 migrant hotels by spring after making \u201cprogress\u201d in tackling the small boats crisis.<\/p>\n

A rapid increase in clearing the asylum backlog and a fall in the number of Channel crossings means the government is confident it can reduce the \u00a38 million a day accommodation bill.<\/p>\n

Greater use of former military sites and the reopening of the Bibby Stockholm barge are also freeing up space, according to Whitehall insiders.<\/p>\n

A source said: \u201cThat\u2019s for the first tranche of exits, but we\u2019re confident we can do more as we continue to make progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first hotels returned to normal use will be in key election areas such as Stoke, it has been claimed. Small boat crossings are down more than a quarter compared to last year, from 37,575 to 26,116.<\/p>\n

The government is also increasing the number of asylum seekers at the Wethersfield site in Essex, which can hold 1,700 people while Scampton, Lincolnshire will hold 2,000.<\/p>\n

Border Force officers yesterday (MON) intercepted the first small boats crossing in a week. Men, women and children were brought ashore after making the journey in at least four boats.<\/p>\n

The migrants wore life vests and were wrapped in blankets as they came off the patrol boat at Dover, Kent, to be processed by the Home Office.<\/p>\n

The boats arriving are the first since October 16 when 185 people were brought ashore from six small boats.<\/p>\n

The crossings come after the Home Office announced on Friday that an annual cap on the number of refugees accepted in the UK would be launched in January 2025.<\/p>\n

Local authorities are being invited to set out their \u201ccapacity\u201d to accommodate people coming to Britain via safe and legal routes in order to determine the limit, the department said.<\/p>\n